和 (he’) in Mandarin Chinese can be translated into, among other things, “with.”
This month the Taiwan Academy in New York will present a contemporary art exhibition and film screenings centered on “multiculturalism and immigration.” This series of events aim to capture the impacts of globalization on Taiwanese society through various lenses, and through the perspectives of the participating artists.
As of now, the foreign worker population in Taiwan has grown to over six hundred thousand people, yet they exist outside of Taiwanese society. [和heʼ] presents a diverse collection of mediums including photography, videography, art installation, and sculpture. The exhibition uses Taiwan as a subject to question our ideas and interpretations of commonality, of being-in-common without presuming a common-being, of searching for commonality without defining that one specific thing we all share in common.
Curated by FOGSTAND Gallery, the contemporary art exhibition [和heʼ] features 9 artists : Chang En-Man, Lee Jo-Mei, Lin Jin-Da (from Taiwan) and other artists including Joo Choon Lin, Chun Kai Feng (Singapore), Song-Yun Kim (Korea), Fiona Burke (Ireland), Samuel Weinburg (USA), and Brandon Cramm (UK).
Alongside the exhibition, 4 films and documentaries, “See You, Lovable Strangers,” “Stilt,” and “Towards the Sun,” have been selected for screening. The first 3 films examine the challenges new immigrants face in Taiwan, as well as the issues of the rural-urban divide. The fourth film “Black Bear Forest” addresses the relationship between humans and the natural environment by taking the audience into the world of an indigenous tribe—Bunun, and the life of Taiwan’s very own protected animal, the black bear.
This exhibition transgresses the concept of nationality and the boundary of artistic discipline, fully embodying the vigor of Taiwanese contemporary art. The selected films focusing on the cultures of new immigrants, foreign workers, foreign spouses, and indigenous peoples, and on the issue of ecological protection, highlight the multicultural, inclusive and innovative spirit of Taiwan in relation to its geographical position in East Asia.
Exhibition Information
和 [heʼ]
May 18–June 22, 2018
Taiwan Academy in New York (1 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017)
Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday 9:30am–5:30pm
Preview + Panel Discussion:
Thursday, May 17, 6:30–8:30pm RSVP
Panelists: Program Director of FOGSTAND/Darren Tesar、Curator/Wenli Tesar、Learning Director of NYFA/ Ms. Felicity Hogan
Opening Reception: Friday, May 18, 6–8pm RSVP
Film Screenings + Artists Talk:
Saturday, May 19, 2-5pm
Queens Museum
（New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368）
Admission and events are free to the public.
More info please visit event website
Films Screening Schedule
1.《See you, Lovable Strangers》（62 min）+ 《Towards the Sun》（28 min）
Thursday, May 31st , 6:30 pm Complimentary admission with RSVP
2. 《Stilt》（108 min）
Thursday, June 7th, 6:30 pm,
3. 《Black Bear Forest》（126 min）
Thursday, June 21st , 6:30 pm,
Venue: Taiwan Academy, B1 Screening Room
(1 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017)